National Salad Month : Enjoy Taco Salad

Taco Salad
recipe resource Blog Chef







1lb lean ground beef
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (16 ounce) bottle French dressing
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 (14.5 ounce) package Doritos (or tortilla chips)
2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives (drained)
4 tablespoons sour cream
½ cup prepared salsa

Step 1: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef. Drain of any excess liquid. Stir in taco seasoning, chili beans, and French dressing. Fill the dressing bottle 2/3 full with water and add to the skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 2: Crush the Doritos and set aside. In a large bowl combine the meat mixture with lettuce, cheese, black olives, and tomatoes. Add sour cream and salsa. Stir in the crushed Doritos just before serving.
(Makes 8 Servings)

Butterscotch Brownies

Butterscotch Brownies
from Floras Recipes

 

1/4  cup  shortening

1  cup  packed light brown sugar

1  teaspoon  vanilla

1    egg

3/4  cup  all-purpose flour

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1  teaspoon  baking powder

1/2  cup  chopped nuts

1/2  cup  chocolate chips

1/2  cup  butterscotch chips

Directions:
Melt shortening in a saucepan over low heat; remove from heat. Mix in brown sugar, vanilla, and egg; stir well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in greased and floured 8x8x2 inch pan. Bake butterscotch brownies at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes. Cut butterscotch brownies while warm

National Nursing Day

This past Wednesday, May 6 was National Nurses Day. Being a Nurses Aide I was able to help celebrate that day at our place of work with other members of the nursing department. National Nurses Week ends on May 12th and started on National Nurses Day. May 12th is a great day of its own to the many nurses around the world. May 12th is the birthday of Florence Nightingale.

Florence Nightingale was a nurse in the late 1800s. She cared for the poor and distressed and became an advocate for improving medical conditions for everyone. During her lifetime she mentored other nurses who were known as Nightingale Probationers. These nurses also worked to create safer, healthier hospitals. Nightingale served during war time as well. Her volunteers would work beside her to help wounded soldiers and send messages between troops. Nightingale would help nurses to reform the hospital so that clean equipment was always available and reorganize patient care. She worked hard to fight to improve living conditions.

 The first ever National Nursing week originally in February was declared by President Nixon. May of 1968 Nurses Day was recognized in New Jersey. In 1982 President Reagan declared May 6 a "National Recognition for Nurses". Hospitals, nursing homes, and community agencies around the country have celebrated the week

shared at
sunday stillness

Coconut cream Pie

 coconut cream pie is one of my husbands favorites. He loves to get this delicious recipe whenever we eat at our favorite recipe. This awesome pie can also be prepared at home. Start with the crust recipe I shared yesterday on Annies Home or you can use a prepared crust from your frozen section or another favorite crust recipe of yours.

First start by baking your crust, no matter what type you choose. Line the crust with parchment paper and add pie weights or you can use dry beans. This will keep the crust bottom from bubbling or buckling.

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Pie Filling:

in a heavy saucepan

• 1 baked pie crust (bake the crust at 425 until beginning to brown)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 TBSP cornstarch
• 1 small can flaked coconut
• 3 TBSP butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups milk, evaporated milk, half n half or any combination of these
• 3 egg yolks (the egg whites can be used for your meringue)

Mix sugar and cornstarch until completely blended. Add milk slowly and mix completely with a wire whisk. Cook, stirring continuously, over low heat until it begins to thicken. Take out a little warm filling and add to your egg yolks and mix WELL. Pour this back into your saucepan. When filling gets thick add butter and whip with your whisk until it is melted. When your filling is sufficently thick, add vanilla and coconut (reserving 1 TBSP coconut to sprinkle on meringue). Top hot filling with meringue (recipe below), sprinkle with remaining coconut. Bake at 425 until coconut is toasted and peaks of meringue are browning.

Now for one of my favorite parts of this pie the meringue.

Start with a clean dry bowl. The bowl can be glass, ceramic, stainless steel and copper bowls but it must be clean and dry. Chilled eggs are the easiest to separate so break and separate before you are ready to create the meringue as the egg whites need to be room temp before beating into meringues. Add 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tarter to bowl per egg white used.

If you prefer you can make the meringue using cream of tartar, white vinegar or lemon juice.

Whip eggs on medium til soft peaks form. Beat in 2 tablespoons white sugar per egg white. The egg whites should reach firm peaks and be glossy. The meringue should be spread to the edges of the pie of hot filling to seal the edges.

 

Bake at 425 degrees F for 4 to 5 minutes. Or until peaks are browning and coconut is toasted.

Some folks are really put off by using the raw egg whites…I personally don’t. But if you do, you may use meringue powder and follow the directions provided.

Pie Crust Recipe

This delicious crust can be prebaked for cream pies or used unbaked for filled pies, or it can even be used for chicken pot pies. The recipe makes enough dough for 4 9" pie shell bottoms for cream or meringue pies or 2 pies with both a top and a bottom for fruit pies.

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup shortening (you can substitute lard, butter or combination of the three solid fats)

1/3 to 1/2 cup cold water

1 TBSP vinegar

1 egg, beaten

Pie crust recipes require flour, fat, liquid and salt. Flour provides structure and bulk of the crust, fat adds moisture and helps keep the crust flaky, liquid helps keep the dough to be pliable and the salt will enhance the flavor and also help brown the crust. I advise to chill the shortening and water before you begin to make the crust. Having cold fat will help the dry mix to blend well with the fat. One great tip is to pinch the fat into the mix with your hands in the end the fat lumps should be no bigger than small peas.

Add vinegar to the chilled water and slightly beat the egg and mix into the water / vinegar mix. Now use the water mix to pour into the dry mix slowly. Mix gently with a fork until the dough is wet and can be formed into a ball. Handle the dough as little as possible to prevent over blending the fat lumps. Small bits of fat are desirable. At this point split the dough into 4 balls. Wrap each in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes. This will help provide the crust with a lighter texture.

Now to make the crust start by dusting a clean dry surface with flour. Remove one ball of dough from the fridge. Flatten the dough slightly and dust the doughs top before rolling the dough out with a rolling pin. Start at the center of the dough and roll outwards. You can perform this step with dough between plastic wrap if you prefer. Roll out dough into a circular shape approx. 4 inches wider than pie pan and about 1/4 or 1/8 thick.

Placing the dough into the pan can be tricky. It is best to fold the dough in half and then into quarters. Pick it up gently and place into the pan so the center point is in the center of the pan. Unfold the dough into the pan and it should be perfectly centered. If any cracks or holes appear pinch it back together from the outer edges. Press into the pie pan, Crimp edges

The crust can be frozen now or you can fill with your filling

 

My Sons Birthday and a special vegetable dish

Happy Birthday!!! to my youngest son. Here he is with his own child. I love him very much. He is such a great dad. On his birthday he requested his girl to make a delicious supper of steak, potato and one of his favorite dishes fried corn. This was a special recipe that his dads mom taught me many years ago.

Want to try this recipe

Recipe: Southern Fried Corn

©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Prep time: 15 min |Cook time: 40 min |

Yield: About 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 slices of bacon
• 10-12 ears of corn, shucked, stripped and scraped
• 1/2 tablespoon of granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• Up to 1/2 cup of whole milk, half and half, or heavy cream, optional
• Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
• Kosher salt, only if needed (taste first!)
• Parsley, to garnish, optional

Directions

Cook the bacon to crisp; remove, chop and set aside, reserving the bacon drippings in the skillet.  While that is cooking, clean the corn, except remove on the tops of the corn kernels.  Then, using the blunt side of the knife, scrape the remaining pulp and milk from the cob.  Sprinkle the kernels with the sugar; stir and set aside. 

In the same skillet that you fried the bacon in, add all of the butter to the bacon drippings and melt over medium heat. Add all of the corn, pulp and juices, and about 1/2 tablespoon of the cream.  Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring often, and adding just a splash of cream as the corn begins to dry, just enough to keep the corn just lightly moist.  Continue cooking, stirring and turning the corn occasionally, adding cream as needed, for roughly 35 to 40 minutes, or until tender. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Turn the heat up to medium high and fry the corn until the corn begins to brown.

Transfer corn to a serving dish, crumble bacon on top and sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Makes about 4 cups.

Cook's Note: Substitute well-drained canned or frozen corn in this recipe - 3/4 cup of kernels is roughly equal to 1 ear. Allow frozen corn to thaw slightly before using it. Reduce the cooking time as you will not need to cook the corn as long if it is frozen or canned